Business wealth fuels pursuit of horse racing titles at Saratoga

In business terms, the money behind vitaminwater is being trumped at Saratoga Race Course by the wealth of a longtime businessman involved in trucking, real estate and cell phones.

In horse racing terms, this means that Kentuckians Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey remain atop the leaderboard of best thoroughbred owners so far at the Saratoga meet—the Capital Region's premier sports event and the core of Saratoga County's vibrant tourism brand.

The Ramseys, both in their late 70s, have won $791,000 so far. That's 60 percent more than the next-closest owner, the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The Ramseys were top owners at Saratoga in 2008 and 2009. Then Mike Repole, the co-founder of vitaminwater, supplanted them.

Repole won that title three years in a row, from 2010 to last summer's meet. He's sitting in ninth place now, with less than half of the Ramseys' earnings.

Ken Ramsey was first a trucking industry executive before buying cell phone network franchises in the 1980s, mainly in Kentucky and Georgia. He sold in 1994 for $39 million.

The competition among trainers is not quite so close at this point. No surprise: Todd Pletcher has opened a wide lead on the field.

Pletcher knows Saratoga: His horses have won more than any other trainer's in eight of the past 11 meets, including the last three.

Pletcher has $2.5 million of winnings and 23 wins, by far the most. In second place is Saratoga Springs resident Chad Brown (13 wins and $1.06 million of earnings).

To bring this post full-circle: The Ramseys were a founding client of Brown's when he struck out on his own in 2007. And Repole, who is chasing the Ramseys, uses Pletcher to train his horses.